Tender, finely crumbed, and fragrant, completely plant-based Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Banana Bread with a Cinnamon Sugar Crust is sure to please young and adult eaters alike, including picky banana bread eaters like me!
Jump to:
- A recipe for picky banana bread eaters and connoisseurs alike
- Ingredients
- What makes this plant-based loaf rise?
- Method
- And then there's the cinnamon sugar crust!
- Get familiar with flax "eggs"!
- The Food Find: whole wheat pastry flour
- Mash that banana like you mean it!
- Why use oil instead of butter ?
- Chocolate really matters here (doesn’t it always?)
- Storage
- Looking for more sweet inspiration?
- Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Banana Bread with a Cinnamon Sugar Crust
A recipe for picky banana bread eaters and connoisseurs alike
Banana bread was not always on the top of my list for sweet treats. I don’t care for plain banana bread, and I really don’t like banana bread with big chunks of gooey, soggy banana throughout. And I haven’t even mentioned how I feel about dry banana bread or banana bread made with overly ripe bananas. Ok, I’ll admit, I am *quite* picky about banana bread.
However, the other eaters in my house love banana bread, so I've made the selfless (ahem) effort to develop a banana bread that we can all enjoy. After quite a bit of experimentation and adaptation of prior versions, I’ve finally crafted a recipe that I, the banana bread skeptic, find truly moreish.
Featuring a balanced banana flavour spread evenly throughout the loaf, crammed with a generous amount of chocolate, perfectly sweetened with just the right amount of maple syrup, and crowned with a toothsome layer of fragrant cinnamon sugar, this tender loaf also boasts the distinction of being completely plant-based.
Ingredients
All you need for Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Banana Bread with a Cinnamon Sugar Crust is:
- ground flaxseed
- whole wheat pastry flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt
- cinnamon
- granulated cane sugar
- maple syrup
- sunflower or other neutral oil
- oat milk
- bananas
- vanilla extract
- chocolate chips
What makes this plant-based loaf rise?
- Baking at a slightly lower than normal 325°F allows the loaf to rise more
- Using parchment paper and not greasing the sides of the pan allows the loaf to climb and grow taller
- Flax eggs, baking soda, and baking powder keep the loaf moist and plant-based
- Using all room temperature ingredients also helps the loaf to rise
Method
Making a loaf of Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Banana Bread with a Cinnamon Sugar Crust is truly straightforward. Start off by making the flax eggs - just water and ground flaxseed - in a medium size bowl, and set aside so that the mixture can gel. In a larger bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Mash the banana, and add along with all of the other wet ingredients into the same bowl as the flax eggs, and mix well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mix in the chocolate chips, and the batter is ready to be scooped into a prepared loaf pan for baking.
Whisk the dry ingredients together.
Whisk together all of the wet ingredients including the prepared flax eggs.
Combine the wet and dry mixtures together.
Add in the chocolate chips.
Give the batter a final mix.
Scoop into the loaf pan.
And then there's the cinnamon sugar crust!
To gild the lily, so to speak, this tender loaf features a contrasting, lightly textured crust of cinnamon sugar. A simple combination of granulated cane sugar and cinnamon is sprinkled on to the unbaked loaf before it goes into the oven. As the loaf bakes, the moisture of the loaf batter melts the sugar and the heat caramelizes the sugar, providing an aromatic and crackled crown. Delicious!
All you need for the cinnamon sugar crust is two simple ingredients.
Before baking, simply sprinkle the cinnamon sugar onto the loaf surface.
Get familiar with flax "eggs"!
If you haven't baked with flax "eggs" before, allow me to introduce you! A flax "egg" is a homemade baking substitute that replaces eggs with a simple mixture of finely ground flaxseed and water. When left for a few minutes, this simple combination transforms into a natural gel that provides moisture and binding power to baked goods, adding some extra fiber and nutrition to boot. So whether you don't have access to eggs, or don't choose to eat them, flax eggs are a great solution. Read more about Flax Eggs.
The Food Find: whole wheat pastry flour
The inclusion of delicate whole wheat pastry flour adds nutrition and a slight nutty flavour while still keeping the loaf supple and soft, even days after baking. This is not the rough and stodgy whole wheat flour you might have grown up with! Milled from softer varieties of whole wheat, whole wheat pastry flour is finely ground and light in texture and colour, adding more flavour and nutrients to baked goods while still providing a desirably tender texture. Read more about whole wheat pastry flour.
Mash that banana like you mean it!
A few additional elements make this loaf truly delectable. Most importantly, when prepping the banana for the batter, make sure to thoroughly mash the ripe bananas with a fork on a cutting board, making a barely lumpy and almost liquid mash before measuring the amount needed for the recipe. This fine mashing distributes the banana more evenly throughout the loaf, ensuring no big gooey lumps of banana.
While some recipes ask for bananas that have turned black, I find this contributes a cloyingly over-ripe, almost fermented banana flavour and aroma that I dislike. For me, bananas that are moderately spotted are just over-ripe enough for this recipe, but of course, use bananas of the ripeness level that you prefer.
Why use oil instead of butter ?
Using oil, instead of butter, allows baked goods in general to stay moist and tender for longer. Here, the modest amount of oil used means no more overly buttery or greasy slices of banana bread, something I dislike in other versions. In addition, using oil means slices of this loaf keep well for a number of days on the counter or in the fridge without the typical hardening up that can occur with butter based loaves.
Chocolate really matters here (doesn’t it always?)
In prior versions of this loaf I used chopped chocolate bars, chocolate chunks, or large chocolate callets. While I loved the generous areas of chocolate those larger pieces provided, when I tried chocolate chips instead, I found the loaf rose higher and had a more balanced moisture level, with the chocolate more evenly distributed throughout.
Happily, there are some delicious chocolate chips out there, such as those I buy in bulk from my favourite local chocolate purveyor, that have a fruity flavour that provides a perfect foil for the other fragrant flavours of the loaf; their transparent fair trade practices only sweeten the deal There are lots of other chocolate chips varieties available, and at the end of the day, use what you have access to and like best! Whichever chocolate you choose, stay on the darker side, either semisweet, bittersweet, or dark, as milk chocolate chips will add too much sweetness to the loaf (and may not be plant-based unless specified on the packaging).
Storage
Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Banana Bread with a Cinnamon Sugar Crust also freezes quite well. Once the loaf has fully cooled, slice it carefully and freeze with small pieces of wax or parchment paper in between each piece to stop the slices sticking together, and wrap tightly or put in a freezer proof container. Take the frozen slices out of the freezer and leave them in the fridge overnight, or set them on the counter or in a lunchbox in the morning to defrost by lunchtime.
Looking for more sweet inspiration?
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, share your thoughts or customizations, and leave a star rating. Your feedback is much appreciated and helps daraeats to grow!
Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Banana Bread with a Cinnamon Sugar Crust
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon finely ground flaxseed
- 6 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon divided
- 1 tablespoon granulated cane sugar
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ⅓ cup neutral oil sunflower, safflower etc. (I generally use sunflower)
- ¼ cup unsweetened oat milk or your preferred unsweetened plant milk (I use an extra rich oat milk)
- 1 cup finely mashed banana measured after mashing; approximately 3 bananas
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips use dark, bittersweet, or semi sweet (check to make sure your chocolate is vegan if needed)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Prepare the pan:
- Prepare a standard 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, lining the pan with parchment paper, making sure to leave at least an inch overhanging on the long sides making for easier loaf removal after baking. It's fine if the short sides of the pan are not covered with parchment; do not oil these sides of the pan.
Prepare the cinnamon sugar:
- In a small bowl, add ½ teaspoon of the cinnamon and 1 generous tablespoon of granulated cane sugar and mix well until combined. Set aside.
Prepare the flax eggs:
- In another small bowl, whisk together the ground flax and 6 tablespoons of water, and set aside for at least 10 minutes while you get the rest of the ingredients together.
Prepare the loaf batter:
- Mix the dry ingredients together: In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and the remaining ½ teaspoon of the cinnamon, whisking well to combine once sifted into the bowl.
- Make sure your flax eggs are ready - they will have a thickly gelled or goopy texture. If any extra water is sitting on top of the mix, just mix thoroughly again before using so that you have a thick and viscous mixture.
- Mix the wet ingredients together: In a large bowl, add the wet ingredients together, adding the maple syrup, oil, oat milk, mashed banana, flax eggs, and vanilla extract, thoroughly whisking until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and using a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, gently mix until just combined - as you’ll mix again in a moment, it’s ok if a few spots of flour still show, so don’t overmix.
- Sprinkle in the chocolate chips, and briefly mix again until just combined.
- Scrape out the batter into the prepared pan and make sure it is evenly distributed.
- Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the loaf, and it let it sit for a minute or two so that the sugar can soak up some moisture.
- Place the pan into the centre rack of the oven and bake for 55 - 65 minutes (60 minutes works for me). Check for doneness by inserting a wooden toothpick or skewer into the centre of the bread, making sure that it comes out clean and batter free. If you see there is still some sticky batter on the toothpick, continue to bake for up to an additional 10 minutes as needed (all ovens vary a bit!).
- When done, remove pan from the oven and place the pan on a rack to cool. Once cooled, gently loosen the sides if needed, and use the overhanging parchment paper to pull the loaf out of the pan. This loaf slices best when cooled, although I usually do sneak a slice (or two!) while it is still warm. Enjoy!
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